Prince Uchiha
by SpectacularyAmazing
Summary: The slaughter of prince Sasuke's family, the king and queen of the Leaf Kingdom and the eldest Uchiha, leaves Sasuke as the only heir to the throne at the tender age of seven. Kakashi as his royal advisor tells Sasuke about the decision the council came to. Find a Queen for the kingdom or become replaced. On his journey for a spouse, he finds his love in an unlikely place. sasunaru
Chapter 1

 **Sasuke** :

Silence. Nothing but silence engulfing my mind. From beneath my eyelids I sense a dull light most likely coming from the large window of my room. I feel the silky extravagance if my bed.

 _One of the perks of being an Uchiha._

 _My day always begin the same. I wake up at an ungodly hour. I try to go back to my (sometimes) peaceful slumber, but never reach it. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since... Well I don't like to think about that night. The night that everything changed..._

 _Inside the "secure" walls of our palace, my parents were murdered and my older brother, Itachi, died trying to defend them._

 _All these events taking place while I was asleep._

 _An intruder came in and slaughtered my parents. For what reason? I can't be certain about that just yet. They were the widely admired King and Queen of the Leaf Village. I don't see why anyone would want them dead. I just was spared because Itachi was able to severely wound the assailants before they got to my room._

 _I remember that night quite clearly, mother read fairytales to me before bed as usual, kissed me goodnight, and telling me that she loved me and that father would be in shortly after he spoke with Itachi. I waited in my bed for father to come in for roughly twenty minutes. As I was dozing off my father cracked open the door and whispered," Goodnight. I love you, son"._

 _When awoken after the guards found my family slaughtered, I was terrified to sleep at all. I was seven. After a few years I got over my fear of sleeping, but I am still cursed with nightmares and can barely get in five hours of sleep at a time._

 _Why am I torturing myself by thinking about this again?_

I leisurely open my eyes. I try to slowly adjust to the light, or the lack thereof. Rising into a sitting position, I lean against the headrest of my bed. Moving into a standing position, I stretch out my body.

Mother used to tell me that because I stretched so frequently I would grow to be as big as my father one day. Now, I know that isn't how body growth works, but it's nice to keep traditions alive.

I walk through my intricately designed bedroom and into my equally detailed bathroom. It's embroidered with gold my signature navy blue. The entire palace has my family crest decorated on it.

I walk to my mirror and stare at myself. My skin has gotten more pallid because of all my time spent indoors and my lack of sleep. My family used to go on trips outside of our palace to greet the common people, but now it pains me too much to think about the fond memories I had outside of these walls.

Everyone thinks that I don't do anything to maintain my "perfect with no effort" look, but honestly it takes some work to pull off. I shower, put on creams to help me look like I have a normal sleep pattern, put on my clothes, and run my fingers through my hair.

Usually "princes" are supposed to be dressed elaborately and look overdressed wherever they go, but my family didn't want to feel separated from their people so we dressed like the common people. Honestly, I don't care what I wear as long as it's comfortable. My servants know this and just leave my clothes where I can easily access them every morning.

I keep speaking to others to minimum. I speak to my royal advisor, Kakashi, the most. He understands my wish for solitude and only consults me whenever it's absolutely necessary.

The first time Kakashi spoke to me referring to leading the kingdom was the morning that I found out about my family's massacre.

He gravely told me," Prince Sasuke, in the event of your parent's death, the oldest heir will inherit the throne and the responsibilities that come along with it. Now that your brother is no longer with us, you are the only living heir left. You must take on this great challenge and make sure that the people of this kingdom have a leader that they need in this time of grieving."

Needless to say, I accepted the challenge. Uchihas never back down from anything.

After my morning routine, I walk the cold stone hallways of the palace and make my way to the kitchen. My servants and I have an unspoken understanding. I do almost everything by myself. They don't constantly look after me. All they need to do is to make sure everything is in working order. If I pass a servant I greet them by nodding. They don't speak to me. They do their job quietly and stay out of my way. I have Kakashi to make sure all my servants are doing their job and everything works out smoothly.

Reaching the kitchen, the chef and his subordinates quickly move out of my way. Taking a tomato from the basket in the pantry, I calmly walk to the library. I usually spend most of the day reading and pondering if I don't have any "prince duties" to attend to.

As I walk into the library through its grand doors, the bright lights fiercely shock my eyes.

Usually, the servants know to close the draperies. I've made it very clear that only enough light to illuminate the library is acceptable.

I languidly walk to the enormous windows. Just in case anyone is watching, I do everything slowly; careful to seem relaxed so I can observe my surroundings. I guess I do have a few remaining issues from that night. Mechanically closing the blinds, I look outside for the first time in months. Mother's garden is barren. I remember feeling anger because of the death of my family that I didn't allow any if the servants to touch any of their personal items. Especially Mother's garden. It seems that throughout the years, her plants died along with her.

Closing the remaining draperies, I forcefully wipe clean the memories of the garden.

Picking up a random book I turn to the first page and walk to the plushest chair in the library. I've spent the last ten years without my family hiding in the library. This deep maroon and gold trimmed chair has always been my chair. I remember my mother reading to Itachi and me in that same chair. I've gone through one third of these books. Some of the pages are fading because I've looked through them so many times. They've always comforted me.

The first few years of being alone was spent in this room. Everyone I'd come in contact with would give me sympathetic glances or avoid me. I was a derisive towards everyone. What did they know about my pain? They had no right to act as though they understood. When my family died I was treated like an adult. I was thrown into the adult world and left to stumble about.

I've mostly accepted that the people around me are all imbeciles. Even so it gets tiresome speaking to them. I am now seventeen and fully able to run this kingdom.

The day I became seventeen, Kakashi walked into the library. He solemnly walked towards me leaving the mandatory four feet between us. He always spoke to about the ways to keep the kingdom running smoothly. He would explain one of the problems and I would tell him the solution. This time it was different. He walked in and said nothing. Curious, I asked him what he wanted. He told me that the council members have been talking. They didn't think that I should be the only person in power. They decided to spread rumors. That I was trying to hold on to every ounce of power leaving the people without any say in their lives.

It was the dumbest thing that I've ever heard. Kakashi explained to them that I was doing no wrong. They decided that the only way they could trust me was if I married. Kakashi bargained with them and bought me until I turned eighteen to find a suitable spouse. I wasn't very thrilled about the idea of someone else living in my palace. The palace of my family. Never the less, I was grateful for at least that small amount of time. Even though I was just seventeen, other kingdoms already had a mandatory rule that the ruler of their land must have a spouse.

Kakashi left me with this information. I sat thinking about my options. I had a year left to find someone.

That was then.

Now I have six months left.

 _How will I find someone? I need someone that won't be prowling around my palace in search for my kingdom's secrets. Calm down Sasuke, you still have six months. Maybe I can get Kakashi to arrange for me to meet some of the surrounding princesses? Okay, it's decided. I'll have Kakashi arrange the meetings. All I have to do is be polite and choose the best one. She'll have to be great enough to take my mother's place as the people's beloved Queen. I'll fulfill my role as the king._

Taking a bite out of my tomato, I dive into my book. Reading has always been a good distraction from my problems…


End file.
